Tax office to the rescue :) - the story of financial hardship Super

It's the end of the financial year. Finally I am able to claim back the $2,200 that the tax office took out when I claimed from my Super fund $10,000 under financial hardship provisions. 

I saw the tax agent bloke down the road last Friday (ITP BTW) very nice guy has been there for years in the local community. As I'm bankrupt it's better to get my totally simplistic tax return done by an agent so it's no worries about possible doubts about my income. 

This as the yearly thing for the bankruptcy is for the gov to ascertain my income for the year and possible liabilities to be paid to the creditors in light of that. Obviously I have to be earning a bit to pay anything back. Um, I'm getting fuck all....

I got about $16,500 from the Disability Pension for the last year, as did David on the Carer payment. We pay currently $400wk rent between us. We both were forced to apply for release of Super under financial hardship provisions issued by gov legislation. 

To qualify you have to be on Centrelink for at least 6 months, and show that generally you have serious problems paying normal living bills. 

I am with Australian Super. David was with HESTA. Australian Super is fine and you can do an online form and get the money in about a week. David's HESTA denied him the money as the bills weren't in his name (WTF? We're a couple according to Centrelink). He rolled his Super over from HESTA to Australian Super at my recommendation. When it was done, Australian Super had his money, and he applied for financial hardship, he was issued within a week the $10,000.

However the gov takes $2,200 of that in tax. 

Upon the end of the financial year, as our income is well below the $18,000 or so tax free threshold, we can claim that $2,200 back. Centrelink DSP and related is tax exempt anyway.

I did mine last Friday, should get it next week. David doing his tomorrow, will get it soon. Minus $165 for the pleasure of getting it done by the ITP guy without money to pay, so they take it out of the return.

David also has money owing from the discrimination settlement last August or so, of which he paid over $1,000 tax, of which he will get all of it back,

He also got money at the end of the financial being my carer, which he just got. 

I spent double on groceries today. We laughed; OMG we can get shavers and New Zealand cheese! Gotta laugh eh.

Seriously, I think that maybe the lately panic attacks have been about having just nothing, Enough to survive the last three months but that's all. Every fortnight at least 7 days without a cent after it's  all paid. Seriously depressing. No fault of our own, just our circumstance we're in right now.

Probably with the money pay things ahead. Rent, Opal bus card, try to get it to where we can live for a while without being in destitution. Where we can actually get out for once a week, say hello to pub mates, sort of be a little bit part of our community instead of sitting at home forever with nothing.

We've both worked 30 years David and I. We didn't plan this. Lucky we worked to have some Super. David is starting uni soon to increase his nursing skills after being destroyed by discrimination (yes, in the health system - private).

Honestly, sometimes I'm just throwing my hands in the air........